Problems
by Just-a-little-crazy and I-am-just-stupid and I-need-a-life
Summary: Lord Sesshomaru gets hurt and the most unexpected person helps.


The wind blew gently against his pale flesh, causing his silver locks to flow around him like a halo. Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken and Ah and Un were walking through the forest, Rin was humming quietly as she followed her beloved Lord, Jaken was muttering under his breath about Rin being a pain in his warted rear, Ah-Un meanwhile were trying to eat the small flowers tangled in Rin's unruly hair. But traveling with this unlikely group did not bother the handsome demon Lord of the Western lands, no, nothing ever got beyond the icy mask he held constantly in place. They were walking a nice, even steady pace, on a mission to find Naraku, who nearly a year ago, tried to use the Demon Lord to kill Inuyasha. Naraku then tried to make Sesshomaru part of him and absorb Sesshomaru's immense power. Unfortunately, Naraku underestimated, both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, and they both broke free of the wretched Naraku, and like a coward Naraku disappeared before he could be engaged into battle. What Naraku hadn't expected, was Sesshomaru's immense anger at the attempt of being used, and there is one thing Sesshomaru doesn't take lightly, and that's being used.

Things were going smoothly until Sesshomaru's sensitive nose caught the very familiar, utterly putrid scent of Naraku. He glanced behind him at Rin and Jaken, "Go into hiding Rin. Jaken I am leaving her in your protection, do not fail me." He stated the threat with cool words, not waiting to see if they obeyed him, Sesshomaru took to the air, slowly moving closer and closer to the awful scent of Naraku, he landed a few feet from a very decrepit old castle, where mist was rolling slowly, as the sun began it's descent.

Sesshomaru eyed his surroundings carefully not missing one movement with his golden gaze. He walked over to the castle, nearing the demented manor he felt the powerful barrier, try to push him out, summoning a minute amount of his strength, Sesshomaru pressed further into the grounds of the castle with ease.

Once fully inside, Sesshomaru, glanced around searching for any sign of movement, then in a darkened corner, Sesshomaru, saw silky black locks flow, when their was no hint of wind, his assumption that it was Naraku was quickly proven. "Welcome, my dear Lord Sesshomaru, how nice of you to greet me at the new location of my home." Came the deep baritone of Naraku's deceitful voice, he slowly revealed himself in the soft light of the setting sun, "So am I to assume that this is a sign that you wish to become one with my flesh?" Sesshomaru's eyes flashed momentarily, before he answered in a voice that would chill a thousand men, "There is no power on this earth strong enough that would make me consider joining the body of such a pathetic half-breed." at this comment Naraku's eyes narrowed, "hmpf, though I may still be a half- breed, I am still, by far, more powerful than you." Naraku said in a dull voice, Sesshomaru growled lightly deep in his chest, "Shall we test might's?" he asked softly, at once Sesshomaru attacked with his poison whip, slashing endlessly at Naraku, but all he hit was a tiny barrier erected by Naraku, who was grinning evilly, "Thus far you have yet to land a blow, too delicate to get you claws dirty?" Sesshomaru retracted his poison whip, he didn't understand why he was racing into such a obvious trap, but he still raced towards Naraku, his mind, meanwhile, was continuously screaming danger, and trap, but Sesshomaru's anger and hatred was quickly getting the better of him.

He grasped Naraku's throat, clenching the delicate flesh tightly, his eyes flashing with sick joy of capturing his prey, he was so caught up in his pleasure of wringing Naraku's neck that Sesshomaru barely dodged the dagger that Naraku grasped in his hand, that was swiftly heading towards Sesshomaru's heart. The dagger slashed across Sesshomaru's chest, forcing him to release his hold on Naraku's neck. Instantly Sesshomaru felt the horrendous burning where the dagger had punctured his chest, the dagger had been poisoned, and by how much pain Sesshomaru was feeling, it was potent, and deadly.

Naraku chuckled softly, "Felt the bite of my blade did, you Sesshomaru, I thought Kanna's secret powder in the air would be enough to let your anger take over your body, but once again I was wrong. But I am most definitely not mistaken that already the poison of my body is flowing through your veins, and your vision is beginning to blur, your thoughts are slowing, you are dying my Lord, and I will be here when you die to absorb your magnificent power." Sesshomaru had no doubt that this was Naraku's plan, for he had spoken truly, Sesshomaru's perfect senses were beginning to dull, he was weakening severely and the poison had been in his blood for only a few short minutes, at this rate Sesshomaru would die in less than an hour. Sesshomaru glared at Naraku, "I will return to finish this, until then Naraku," he said in a cold voice and turned to depart. Naraku smiled, he knew that there was no way that the weakened demon lord would be able to escape, and he watched as the handsome demon raced towards the barrier, he stopped immediately when he reached the invisible wall. Once again Naraku underestimated Sesshomaru, and his will to live, for he walked seemingly effortlessly through the barrier, Naraku's eyes held utter shock as the Demon Lord disappeared from sight. 'Damn. There is no point in wasting time trying to follow him, if he wants to remain hidden he will, until he draws his last breath and his scent is released, I shall have to wait until then, it is good that I am such a patient man,' with that thought all traces of Naraku disappeared.

Sesshomaru flew through the forest, trying to make it back to his companions, a flicker of doubt flittered through his mind, but he quickly squelched it knowing that that was how men died, with doubt. He finally reached his group, but he was severely weakened, and was beginning to lose consiousness, he looked at the worried Rin, "I am all right Rin, go to sleep," He sat beneath a tall oak tree, and slipped into unconsciousness, unknowingly scaring Rin, because his voice had been a request and no more than a whisper. With that Rin looked at a terrified Jaken, "Master Jaken, watch Lord Sesshomaru, Ah and Un and I will go and get help" with that she hopped onto the two headed beast, leaving behind a very confused toad.

The gentle breeze of the warm June air stirred the raven locks of a warm spirited teenage girl, who was accompanied by a silver haired Half-demon, named Inuyasha, he had a fiery temper that was easily stirred, but he cared deeply for those he traveled with. His golden eyes surveyed his 'pack' he gazeed at the devious monk who carried a very deviant glint in his sapphire eyes, as his cursed hand, that held the wind tunnel, gently massaged the lovely demon slayer, Sango's, perfectly rounded behind. A loud 'slap' was heard, and the monk Miroku was sprawled on the ground, a handprint slowly appearing on his seemingly innocent face, the handprints' creator was cursing the monk quietly, her chocolate eyes sparking in her anger, she was pissed, again! Their was laughter and Inuyasha's eyes moved to the one doing most of the laughing, Shippo, a young fox kit, who had flaming red hair, and green eyes that almost never lost their humorous glint. Currently the fox kit was sitting on the elegant shoulder of Kagome, who was joining in on the mirth with a huge grin plastered to her face, she caught the look from Inuyasha and the grin turned into a radiant smile. Inuyasha was embarrassed by this and simply 'fehed' before returning his eyes to the dusty road ahead of them. All was quiet, the summer heat wasn't overbearing but warming and soothing, making the group feel comforted by it's healthy glow. Inuyasha was admiring a huge eagle flying in the sky, when he caught a very tempting, and heart-stoppingly familiar scent of Kikyo. He looked at his group, then raced off, not telling the other's where he was going, but simply took off to find his beloved Kikyo.

The others watched in surprise as Inuyasha dashed off, everyone looked to Shippo, hoping his sensitive nose could explain Inuyasha's rapid retreat. Shippo sniffed at the air cautiously before confirming their beliefs, "Yup' it's the pot head…oops! I mean Kikyo" he said in mock joy, his teasing went away when he caught the hurt look in Kagome's eyes, "Kagome? Are you ok?" he asked gently, knowing his best friend secretly loved Inuyasha, and the stupid mutt just treated her like a hound dog in search of the scent of jewel shards. She looked at Shippo and nodded gently, she pasted a wobbly smile on her pale face, "Of course Shippo, but you know what I think I need to talk to Inuyasha, I'll be right back" with that she plucked Shippo carefully from her shoulder and set him on the ground and quickly followed Inuyasha's retreating figure.

She followed him deep into the forest until she watched him step into a tiny clearing that held the dead priestess. She saw him walk to Kikyo, his eyes betraying his feelings, Kagome watched in despair as Inuyasha clutched Kikyo in his arms, whispering his love and devotion to her. Kagome sighed softly, she had seen enough, she slowly retreated from the saddening scene, she had seen the likes before, but it always hurt the same, it felt like betrayal, agony, and despair bottled into one being that lived deep in Kagome's heart. She knew that she could never have the same love from Inuyasha as Kikyo received, Kagome had accepted that long ago, but it still hurt to lose one's first love.

Kagome wandered aimlessly, mulling these morbid thoughts in her head, wondering why she remained in the feudal era at all, but she knew the reason why, because that reason had never changed, she belonged there. For some strange and bizarre reason Kagome knew she belonged there in the feudal era, this is where her real friends were; Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and even though she couldn't have his heart, he was still her closest friend, Inuyasha. Kagome looked up at the setting sun, realizing too late that she was lost, in the woods, alone. Squelching her panic Kagome turned in the direction she had just come to try and retrace her tracks. Soon it was dark, and Kagome was even more lost than before, but now she was cold and hungry, and her fear was becoming very hard to control. Then she heard it the gentle rustle of bushes, Kagome's eyes widened in fear, praying that it wasn't demon, she slowly began to move away from the sound, hoping to escape, the 'thing' for lack of a better name, following her, Kagome darted to the left and began to walk swiftly away, the 'thing' right at her heels, not caring how much noise it made, Kagome's fear got the better of her common sense, and soon Kagome was running as fast as she could, only to run into the scaly chest of a two-headed beast. Kagome let out a scream of fright, she grasped her pounding heart as recognition dawned on her that it was the beast Ah and Un, the traveling companion of…..Sesshomaru. Fear returned with a vengance, Kagome searched for the handsome demon lord, but he was no where to be found, then there was another rustle of bushes and Kagome turned to see a worried Rin emerge from the bushes.

"RIN! You scared ten years off of my life! What are you doing here? Where is that toad? And Lord Sesshomaru?" At the mention of her beloved leaders' name, Rin's eyes filled with tears, "Dear Lady Kagome! You must save him! My Lord has been gravely injured, and Master Jaken and I can do nothing to save him! You are the only one powerful enough to save him, at least out of those I know….But you must save him!" She ended in a sob crying heavily into her orange kimono. Kagome eyed Rin suspiciously, Kagome doubted that she was powerful enough to save a rat, but she didn't know how to break it to the distraught child. "There, there Rin. It's ok! I am sure he will be just fi…." But she was cut off by Rin "NO! He won't! Lady Kagome I wouldn't come to you and ask for your help, but he's dying! DYING! Please milady don't kill the last of my family! please." she whispered the last part, her heart pouring into the little 'please' Kagome looked at the child with empathy, she could go with and just ease the child's fears, Kagome was sure that nothing could bring the demon lord down, nothing. She released a nervous sigh, "All right Rin, take me to Sesshomaru." At this Rin released a sigh of her own, this one filled with relief, "THANK YOU! Thank you so much Lady Kagome!" Rin grasped Kagome's hand, and led her to Ah and Un, Rin climbed onto the massive beast and Kagome climbed behind her, "Quickly Ah and Un we must save out lord!" with that the beast took to the air, they were gliding effortlessly through the clouds, the chill in the air making both girls shiver, soon they were making their descent into a small clump of trees where a worried toad was pacing, and Sesshomaru lay unconscious.

When they landed Jaken stopped his pacing and eyed Kagome incredulously. "You brought HER!" it wasn't a question but a statement, Kagome shot the ugly beast an evil glare and trudged over to Sesshomaru. She knelt beside him and felt his forehead, he was on fire! Kagome knew demons couldn't become sick, so she struck illness off the list, so she began to look for injuries. Sesshomaru seemed to be ruffled up, but nothing to cause the fever, then she saw his chest, the long deep wound was healing, but there was a dark purple coloring in the wound, poison. She was sure of it, but she had heard on several occasions that powerful demons could fight and push the poison from their bodies, she could tell this poison was powerful and by the looks of it, the poison was winning the fight with Sesshomaru. She tried to think of what to do, she couldn't purify the poison because she would purify Sesshomaru as well, she had no medicines with her, but what if she drained the poison?

She removed a small pocket knife from her yellow backpack, and with a moment's hesitation ran the blade over the sealing wound. The blood was a dark purple, and smelled rotten and evil, but the swelling and fever only became stronger, and Sesshomaru began to seizure. She laid her body on top of his to still his thrashing, meanwhile her mind racing to figure out what to do to cure this poison, then she decided to try again, she wiped the knife clean, then closed her eyes and focused her powers on the knife, the knife glowed a soft pink, once satisfied, Kagome ran the blade over the wound again. This time Sesshomaru howled in pain, the knife sizzling across his flesh purifying enough to stop the poison, but leave Sesshomaru intact. Kagome held her breath, watching for any sign's of further purification, when none came she released her breath, and watched the deep purple begin to fade into a magenta color, and the wound slowly begin to heal. Sesshomaru slipped into the dreamless slumber once again, Kagome sighed, relieved that for now he was safe, but she wasn't sure if the poison would remain under control, she turned weary eyes to Jaken and Rin, who held admiration and gratefulness in their eyes, "We need to take him to a bed, with warm blankets, and clean dressings, I'm not sure he's quite safe yet, but a healthy environment will definitely help." She spoke quickly not knowing how much time they had, Jaken seem to agree for he began to lift Sesshomaru onto Ah and Un, then with the help of Rin and Kagome they succeeded in the task. Then they all climbed onto the two headed beast and took to the air, "Where are we headed?" Kagome asked, Jaken looked at her imperiously, "Why you silly twit, to Lord Sesshomaru's Manor of course!" then Kagome's face lost all color…

…..then Kagome's face lost all color. His MANOR! Kagome had thought a villager's home nearby or something like that, but his home! Quickly she realized how foolish her assumption really was, of course they were going to his manor, she had stated that they needed to go somewhere clean, and Sesshomaru looked to be the cleanest person she knew. She looked at the object that held her thoughts captive, she felt his forehead for fever, and checked his wound again. His fever was going down, but still very high, his wound was what worried her though. The wounds' top layer of skin had healed over, but was bleeding beneath the skin, the poison had destroyed some strong tissues, thus the reasons for the dark stain marring his porcelain skin. She removed her knife once more and cut the gash open again, as she did this the toad reprimanded her, "If you keep cutting milord open, I will have to hurt you, taking advantage of him by trying to bleed him to death, the nerve!" he humphed and looked ahead again, ignoring the shocked expression on Kagome's face, "HOW DARE YOU! I am trying to save his life you ungrateful toad, I could leave now and he would die, and it would be all your fault! Then how would YOU feel!" she growled angrily. The toad turned to her, a sly look on his face, "If you were going to leave him, you would have done so the first time you bled him." His smug look was even more infuriating then the fact that he was right! Kagome looked away, she wasn't leaving until she was sure Sesshomaru made a full recovery. She silenced any retort that she was planning to say as a huge castle loomed in the distance. She knew instinctively that this was the home of the ice prince Sesshomaru. It's hard angles, deadly cliffs, high walls, and rounded outer walls insured safety and threatened death, just like the man himself. Kagome shook herself from her thoughts as they landed on the foggy ground; three large demons appeared out of nowhere and carried their lord to his chamber, Kagome right behind them. Two lovely demon maids then appeared and Kagome issued orders for fresh linens, hot water and a few medicinal herbs for cleansing and fast healing.

She looked at Sesshomaru unconscious on the bed, and saw that he was still in his bloodied and filthy clothes, a blush rose high on her cheeks as she realized that she would have to change him. Placing her responsibility over her embarrassment, Kagome removed the top portion of his ensemble, it revealed the strong, but wounded chest, to a well muscled stomach, she moved down to remove his bottom clothes, when the maids walked in. "OH! Milady! We will undress the lord, why don't you change into the clothes that we have laid out for you?" Kagome nodded, the blush returning immediately and she rushed in the direction that they had pointed to. When she reached the room they had indicated she walked in, and lost all breath. It was beautiful! Mahogany chests lay stacked against the wall, a huge dresser sat against crème wall with a beautiful glass mirror with intricate designs carved along the edges, sat atop of it. In the middle of the room sat a huge four-poster bed, with dark sapphire silken sheets. On top of those sheets sat a lovely white silk kimono, with large blue sakura blossoms and a blue sash for the waist. Kagome touched the beautiful garment and then shook her head; she couldn't care for an injured patient in that! It was made for fine dinners, and dancing nights, so for tonight her school uniform would have to do.

She returned to the room that held Sesshomaru the maids awaiting her return, they said nothing about her clothing, a wise decision, "Milady we cannot leave you alone in our lords bedroom, protocol strictly demands that an unmarried woman cannot be in the same room as an …" the servant was cut off by Kagome, "Does it look like I care about protocol, or fashion trends, or any of that stuff? No! Sesshomaru is now in my care, and care for him I will, without a bunch of vultures breathing down my neck, you are dismissed, and thank you for my supplies." She stared them down, daring them to argue over what she had said, but neither did, with deep curtsey's the maids left Kagome to tend to Sesshomaru.

Kagome let out a sigh of relief, before walking over to where Sesshomaru lay, all that showed was his body from his stomach up, but it was enough to catch Kagome's overactive imagination, he was well sculpted, his hard muscled, giving his pale skin an unearthly glow that was very masculine. His silver hair was fanned around him in a halo of sorts, the purple slashes across his cheeks were more prominent against his even paler face due to the loss of blood. With the mention of blood Kagome was jarred from her thoughts, and set to work using the hot water to clean his skin and wound of dirt and dried blood. Then she mixed up the many herbs she had asked for and made a healing paste, then spread it over his swollen wound. She then carefully bandaged it, once that was completed Kagome didn't really know what to do. She sat and watched Sesshomaru for a bit, then tried reading a book from her yellow pack, but her mind was racing with ideas and images that involved her, Sesshomaru and a bed, suddenly Sesshomaru began to thrash wildly, startled Kagome put her body over him in an effort to calm him, but still he struggled. Kagome's mind raced, she tried to talk to him, which worked to an extent, then she sang a soft lullaby to him, which soothed him completely. Once Kagome was sure he was calm again, she decided she enjoyed singing to him, so she continued in an effort to stay awake, she had a feeling this was going to be a long night. So she snuggled into a comfortable position and began to sing to him about how a young girl fell into a well that led her 500 years into the past…

Sesshomaru's Dream

Sesshomaru was falling, faster and faster, up was down, down was up, suddenly he hit the ground hard. He heard a soft chuckle, and he whirled to face a grinning Naraku, Sesshomaru went to attack, but he couldn't move, then their was unbearable pain in his chest. The pain was so intense that Sesshomaru fell to his knees, his skin crawled with fever, he saw things that weren't possible, like his father, things he knew couldn't possibly exist, and things that were better forgotten. He saw a woman standing alone, a person he thought he had forgotten, she attacked him, and he fought her, her sickening voice ringing in his ears. "Betrayer! Liar! Theif!" she chanted, over and over again. Sesshomaru fought until his breath came out in heavy pants but her voice wouldn't stop, then he heard it. Faint, but strong, her musical voice telling him to stop, to come back , Sesshomaru slowed, his tormentor dissipating before him, the lovely voice growing stronger , soothing his battered soul, overriding the sickening voice from before, as she sang him a lullaby, her voice ringing with such gentleness that Sesshomaru wanted to see the face of this angel, thus hebegan to rouse from his unconsciousness…..

Sesshomaru began to awaken, hoping that the voice was real, his eyes slowly opened, holding hope, wisdom and dreams. As suddenly as that glimmer of warmth had appeared in his golden gaze, it vanished when they settled on the face of Kagome Hirigashi settled in his favorite armchair looking out at the night sky, singing. He cleared his throat, "What are you doing here wench." He was satisfied when she jumped and turned her horrified gaze to the no longer slumbering demon lord, who was not at all happy to have a human girl in his bedroom….

He cleared his throat, "What are you doing here wench." He was satisfied when she jumped and turned her horrified gaze to the no longer slumbering demon lord, who was not at all happy to have a human girl in his bedroom….

Kagome's heart stop when she heard his eerily quiet voice, she stopped singing immediately, and turned her shocked gaze to clash with his beautiful golden one. She blushed when she realized that she was staring at him and lowered her gaze to her shoes. Sesshomaru watched her and soon realized that she wasn't going to answer him, so he asked again, "I said, what are you doing here wench?" he pondered at the slight flinch at the word wench, and quickly put it in the back of his mind, and stared at her awaiting her answer.

"Well, um, you see….umm…..you were…uh…injured by Naraku, and he put some kind of poison in you, Rin and that ugly little creature, whatshisface were worried, so Rin went searching for help, and apparently I was the only person around to help." She watched as he absorbed this , awaiting his thanks, and apology for calling her a wench, which sounded so much like Inuyasha, it hurt. When he finally did speak, she was shocked, "I did not need the help of a human, the idea is utterly ridiculous, so I ask again what are you doing here?" Kagome saw red. Sesshomaru was just as pig headed, stubborn, and ungrateful as Inuyasha was! Her anger beat her common sense, " Y-you- you jerk! I saved your LIFE! You would have died, and then where would Rin have been! You would have sentenced her to death, an innocent little girl, She depends on you, and you would just risk your life to abandon her! You're a monster! Then you get the gall to say that 'a stupid little human' couldn't save you, but it wasn't just me! TWO stupid little humans saved you, Me and RIN! I will not be treated like this! I cared for you for 5days and nights, and I get called a wench! NO THANK YOU!" By the time she was finished she was heaving air into her lungs, trembling with her anger, and then paled when she saw his face.

A ghost of a smile played across his face, this little miko had the nerve to be outraged at him, the smile disappeared as he realized that the miko was right, he quickly remembered his fight with Naraku and the immense pain that he had felt, the little glimpses in his dreams of her tired and worried face as she cared for him, then he settled on one disturbing thought, Rin. He had nearly died, and in doing so he had almost left Rin alone, something he had sworn silently to himself, that he would never do. All it had taken was this little slip of a girl, for him to realize that, and the fact that the miko had acted as outraged as a demon mother defending her pup had set his curiosity blazing. Sesshomaru apprehended that he had handled this situation all wrong. " Well miko, where I am grateful you have healed me," at this she brightened, he continued "but I was not in any danger of perishing, and I do not care what happens to the human child or any other human for that matter." With that he rose, knowing he had lied through his teeth, as he stood he swayed precariously on his feet until gentle arms wrapped around his torso to stabilize him. He looked down at the raven haired girl, her face contorted in an effort to hold his weight, "Where to, ice prince?" she huffed out, "you can't go any where, your not strong enough yet, you still need a couple of days to recuperate, so just lay down and I'll ge…" she was cut off as he roughly pushed her away, he stood his full height, grabbed his clothing and left the room. Kagome stared at the door, cursing him as she did so, him, his stubborn head, his cold attitude, and more importantly his perfect ass! She left the manor trying to let off some steam, then a thought came to her, he was going to hurt tonight from him simply moving, so she decided that she would look for some pain killing herbs, so she grabbed her backpack and wondered into the woods.

Sesshomaru walked into one of the adjourning rooms and slipped into his clothes, once he was fully dressed, he was out of breath. Damn that wench! He thought furiously, she was right, already I want to lie down and rest, but I made of more than that! With that little thought of encouragement, Sesshomaru went to his den, where he had papers with names of high ranking lords requesting Sesshomaru to marry their daughters, or to do trade, or for assistance in a local battle. Sesshomaru never even bothered with replies, it was foolish for them to even ask, because Sesshomaru only did things as he saw fit. He sat in an over sized leather chair, and tried to think of how to handle the miko. Inuyasha had called her Kagome on several occasions, so at least he knew her name, he could very well just send her on her way back to the little mutt, this would be the proper action that he could do, but what of the aspect of her compassion, her beauty, her care? Sesshomaru shook himself from his fantastic thoughts, no he would send her back to his brother, with that Sesshomaru went to his room to find Kagome, when he got there he did not find her as he had expected, with a growl of frustration Sesshomaru followed her scent which led outside and to the forest, he released another growl, this one filled with anger, and something he hadn't expected, fear. 

Kagome was walking through the forest; it was pleasantly warm, her previous anger gone as the peaceful sounds of the forest filled her with calm. She began to hum to herself as she drew deeper and deeper into the forest, finally she found the plants she had been looking for, she picked a great deal of them, knowing that Sesshomaru would need them with his stubborn streak, she put the sticky plants in her backpack and dusted her hands off, when she turned she ran smack into a very strong chest. She began to lose her balance when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, she looked up into a pair of emerald eyes. The man who held her was wonderfully handsome, he had long brown hair that was held in a bushy ponytail, his eyes were dark green, and long lashes surrounded them, giving them a very exotic appeal, his skin was lightly tanned, he had a impish nose (in a masculine way) his chin was very strong and stubborn, and from the feel of his body, he had the body of an athlete. She brought herself to look at his eyes again, and noticed that his eyes held a sly look of mischief and deceit. She tried to push herself out of his arms, but he only tightened his grip. "Let me go!" she growled, he smiled down at her, if she wasn't so frightened she would have admired that smile, but it was unsettling at the moment. "Now why would I let go the hostage of my enemy? Oh no I will not, Naraku says he wants you, and since I work for Naraku, I will have to take you with me, but he never said that you were a beauty. I will have to sample you my little morsel." He murmured, and kissed her roughly, she tried to protest, but that only gave him more access as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, she pushed at his chest , but he only became more forceful with his mouth, finally she bit as hard as she could on his tongue.

He leapt away, and spit out blood, he gave her a look of pure lust, "A feisty one I see, excellent, I have always enjoyed a fight, whether it be on a battlefield, or in bed, come at me then little one," he whispered, instead of charging him Kagome fled running as fast as she could, she heard him laugh and then begin the chase. Kagome ran for her life, she knew she couldn't outrun a demon, so she jumped into the nearby river, taking a deep breath before the water closed over her head, then began swimming for her life, she crossed the river, under the water hoping that the lusty demon wouldn't see her, she rose to the surface gasping for air, meanwhile looking at the opposite riverbank for the offensive demon, suddenly she was lifted from the water, she began to kick and scream, "Let me go you vile demon! LET ME GO! Oh god, Sesshomaru help me! Please!" she fought hard, and the arms encircled her, her back flushed against a rock hard chest, "Please, don't" She felt him nuzzle her hair, shivers coursing through her body, she was sickened that she enjoyed his warm breath against her ear, "You shouldn't have left the castle, wench" came the cold, but never the less, familiar voice of Sesshomaru.

He released her, and she whirled on him. "You scared the life out of me! First this green eyed demon tries to take me, then you go and…." She was cut off, when Sesshomaru pushed her behind him, confused Kagome looked around, then clutched at his sleeve when the green eyed bully appeared. "Ah, Sesshomaru, so I was right, she is your hostage, it will be all the more pleasurable when I take her, and use her, she is still pure, you have not had the chance to use her, unlike my sister of course" his eyes turned black at the mention of his sister. "She is not my hostage, but I know that she does not deserve the likes of you defiling her, you will leave my land Tenshinki, and let the past die." Sesshomaru said, ice freezing his words. The man named Tenshinki laughed, "Like my sister Sesshomaru, I think not! I will have my revenge!" with that he attacked Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru easily dodging his attacks, but Kagome knew he was still weak. They fought brutally, Tenshinki, clawed at Sesshomaru's shirt, revealing the mark left behind by Naraku, seizing his chance, Tenshinki dug his claws into Sesshomaru's chest, Sesshomaru's eyes widened, but he merely dug his poisoned claws into Tenshinki's neck ending his life immediately. Dropping the body, Sesshomaru turned to Kagome, he walked over to her and picked her up bridal style, and took to the air.

"Sesshomaru, don't! You don't need to carry me, I have to see to your wounds!" Sesshomaru looked down at her, "You are such a foolish woman, you have no idea what danger you put yourself into, it is no wonder why my bother isn't dead trying to save your worthless hide." She looked at him, despite his injuries, she saw fear, not a fear of dying but a fear for…for her! Only then did she tremble, she knew it must take a great deal to make Sesshomaru fear, she really had been in serious danger, Sesshomaru tightened his grip on her, at her trembling, he knew that shock was setting in, he looked down at her again, and was startled to see tears in her eyes, but it never showed on his face. She looked up to him and whispered, "Thank you Sesshomaru." Then she did the one thing neither of them had expected, she kissed him

Sesshomaru froze, this human was kissing him, he was shocked! Feeling him stiffen Kagome realized what she was doing and pulled her lips from his, she blushed furiously and lowered her eyes meanwhile mumbling "sorry". Sesshomaru looked at the girl in his arms, she is adorable when she blushes, he cursed himself for the thought immediately, didn't he learn the last time he was with a human, once again the voice from the past rang in his head "Liar, Betrayer, Thief!" it wasn't hard for the cold cynical Sesshomaru to return, he glanced at the still blushing Kagome, the said in a voice meant to chill, "Don't you need to go back to my pathetic brother. You are his wench, right? He probably gets cold at night, but then he still have that dead miko doesn't he?" his words hit their mark, Kagome's heart, tears welled in her eyes, and she looked away so he couldn't see her face, the rest of the flight to the castle was a quiet one. As soon as they landed, Sesshomaru released Kagome she ran up to the room she was occupying, tears streaming down her face. Sesshomaru watched her retreating form, and sighed, he had done what he needed to do, he couldn't chance any feelings, they caused too much trouble and too much pain, just like humans.

He strolled around his gardens thinking about the past, and Kagome, when he remembered his wounds, the poison from Naraku had dramatically slowed his healing, and he was still bleeding dramatically, the pain was strong, but nothing he couldn't handle, then he heard the crack of a tree branch and glanced over his shoulder to see Kagome standing behind him carrying a basket filled with strange roots, "I thought you had gone to cry yourself to sleep like a helpless little human woman? Did you need more sharp words to make the tears come harder, for I have plenty to spare for you." He said in a harsh voice. Kagome stiffened at his tone but no tears formed this time, just a cool façade that made her seem uninterested, "No thank you Sesshomaru, but thank you for you thoughtfulness , you are too kind, now if you are done being a pompous ass I brought these for you." She said in a brisk tone and held up her basket of herbs, Sesshomaru couldn't believe the nerve of this woman, she was 5'4 to his 6'4 and she had just insulted him, he could kill her now if he chose, but he decided against it, he couldn't help but admire her courage, he glanced at the basket the said in a cool tone, "Poison? How sweet, I'm really not that hungry at the moment, maybe tomorrow you can slip it in my kill, and hope that I don't smell it." Kagome bit the inside of her cheek, the nerve! Here she was bringing him medicine for the pain he was obviously feeling, and he had insulted her again! She quickly pasted a sickly sweet smile on her face, "Well I wish I knew where the poison plants that kill arrogant demons were, unfortunately your forest doesn't seem to have the strong stuff, but if your interested I picked these, these plants will not only heal the wounded flesh, but also it will regenerate energy which will help get rid of the remaing poison in your blood, and will get your demon strength back to it's annoyingly, sickeningly strong self again, but if you keep insulting me I'll throw them away." She held the basket out to him letting him decide, she doubed he would want to remain as weak as he was, she eyed him warily nothing in him seemed to change then he turned his back to her and began to walk away.'

Kagome saw red, she was known to have a nasty temper,and before she knew it she threw the basket at Sesshomaru's head, but before it struck his silver head, he turned and caught the basket in one hand. He held in the air, then looked at the basket and then to a now very pale and frightened Kagome, and he smiled, this one full of warmth. Kagome couldn't believe it she just threw a basket at a demon lord who could kill her in no time flat, and now he was smiling at her. Not the chilling smiles she had seen before, no those were frightening, no this was warm and it changed his face, making it all the more handsome, and his eyes were golden pools warm from his mirth. Then he said his deep voice rumbling in his chest, "Since you insisted so graciously, I suppose I can not refuse." Then he sat beneath a huge oak and held the basket out to her, Kagome was shocked, but slowly forced her numb legs to move, her lifeless fingers grasped the basket and she knealt infront of him, then she quickly put her mind to work smashing the plants together to form a liquid paste, when she finished she looked up to see Sesshomaru's cold eyes watching her, "Who taught you?" he sounded almost uninterested, but Kagome ignored his tone and answered cheerfully, "Kaede, an older miko, taught me, when we stay with her she helps me with archery, or shows me a new incantation, or she teach me healing practices, she is very wise and very helpful, she was the one to give me the submissive beads that are around Inuyasha's neck so that he wouldn't hur…." She stopped immediately as she realized what she had said then she held the paste out to Sesshomaru, "Ummm, it is very bitter tasting, but you need to swallow it all, it will burn for a little while but in the morning you should be completely healed, and then I guess…I guess I can go back with Inuyasha." She sounded so depressed, Sesshomaru wondered if she was as reluctant for her return to Inuyasha as he was, once again Sesshomaru shook himself from his dangerous thoughts, he already went to far by smiling and accepting her help, no she would return the following day and that would be it, with that decision made he took the paste and swallowed the thick clump in one gulp, he immediately regretted it, the paste burned his tongue and throat in it's bitterness, his eyes widened and said in a hoarse voice, "I think I would have preferred the poison." Kagome started then looked at him, he was serious, and at that moment everything was too humorous to hold in she laughed. She laughed and giggled until tears came, she left to return to her room, and she was still laughing, she fell asleep with a smile on her lips.

When dawn came, Kagome hated it, for it meant she had to return to a place where she was forced to see the man she loved with another woman. She dressed in her school uniform, and ran down the spiral staircase only to see Sesshomaru walking quickly towards her she smiled at him then she saw the lines of worry around his eyes, "What's wrong?" she asked concern laced in her words, he looked at her then said "Rin, she is ill"Kagome's eyes widened and they both quickly went to Rin's room where she lay, wheezing, Kagome ran to Rin's side she felt Rin's forehead, she was burning, Kagome listed to her gurgling breaths and realized that Rin had a lung infection. Kagome looked to a worried Sesshomaru, she motioned him to follow her, and he did. Once they were outside Rin's room she spoke quickly, " Sesshomaru her lungs are infected, there are no medicines here that can save her she will die," Sesshomaru's eyes widened incredulously, but Kagome continued "but, if I take her back to my time she can easily be saved, these are early symptoms and can be taken care of with some antibiotics, but I need you to take me to the bone eater's well and trust me to take care of her," She waited for his reaction, "You want to take her to your time?" at her nod he continued, "You will return in no less than three days, now get ready we will leave immediately. Kagome nodded and grabbed her yellow backpack, she returned to Rin's room where Sesshomaru stood holding Rin who was wrapped in a down comforter, they got onto Ah and Un and went to the bone eater's well. When they landed, Kagome took Rin into her arms a dangled her legs into the well, she turned to Sesshomaru, "See ya' in three days," then dropped into the well. Sesshomaru watched in displeasure as Kagome took the closest thing to family that he had to another time, he then made himself comfortable beneath a shady tree as he prepared for his three day wait

Kagome climbed on the ladder that led her out of the bone eater's well, it was much more difficult with two people! But she finally was able to leave the shrine, she went to her home to look for her mom so that she could drive Kagome to the Hospital, she laid Rin on her couch and started calling for her mother and Grandfather, but no one was around. She went back to Rin, feeling her forehead Kagome's fear doubled, Rin's fever was getting stronger and her breathing was shallow and ragged, she couldn't wait, Rin needed to go to the Hospital now. With a sigh Kagome hoisted Rin in her arms and began the walk to the Hospital. After about three blocks Kagome stopped at a park bench to rest, she only had one more block before she got to the hospital, but Rin was 75 plus pounds and was hotter than Hades. After five minutes or so Kagome picked Rin up once more and made her way to the Hospital again, when she arrived the sliding doors opened and she was greeted by a cheery nurse. "Hello what can I help you with Ma'm?" the receptionist asked, her name tag read Sasuka, Kagome smiled before answering, "This is Rin and I think she has an infection of the lungs, she needs medical attention immediately," kagome thought to herself 'well that sounded stupid' Sasuka smiled and turned to her computer "Well okay, I need to top answer a few question's and then we will take care of Rin, what is your relationship to her?" Kagome froze, duh! Of course they would need all that info! So Kagome just lied "Umm she's my cousin from………Russia, her name is Rin…..Toji." 'oh yeah like she's gonna believe that!' Kagome thought to herself, "Oh really? Russia! How exciting, I have family from Russia, they are so barbaric, no social security numbers, no medical records nothing! So I guess that answers my next few questions of her S.S Number, records, but how old is she? And does she have any allergies? oh and Her parents names!" Sasuke replied happily, Kagome's jaw dropped she couldn't believe her luck! Now she lied effortlessly, "She is 8 years old and no allergies, her mother is deceased, but her father is Sesshomaru Taji!" The nurse looked at her oddly, "You mean Toji, right?" 'uh oh!' Kagome giggled nervously "Of course I am just so worried about her that I am all jumbled up, is that all?" The nurse nodded as if everything made perfect sense, "Of course if you will wait for 20min we will be able to see you." Kagome nodded and went to sit down.

Kagome held Rin in her arms, Kami was on her side today, if she had been caught how would she have answered their questions 'Oh yes she from 500 years in the past, where she travels with the Demon Lord of the Western Lands, oh and did I mention that she was killed by wolves the resurrected by Sesshomaru' yeah that would go over well! Rin began to stir in her arms, Kagome looked down at her, her heart crying out in despair at the fragile child, "Ka…Kagome?" Rin said weakly, Kagome held her tighter "Yes Rin sweetie, Rin, I need you to do something for me, do you think you can?" at Rin's nod she continued, "I need you not to say anything until we are back at my house, I told everyone that you are from a different land so that they would bother you ok? Can you do that for me?" when Rin nodded again Kagome smiled and began to hum to Rin to get her to sleep again. Finally their name was called and they went into a small white room where they wait for the doctor to arrive, when she did Kagome was shocked, it was Sango! "Hello I am Dr.Sangya, so Rin is sick huh?" At Kagome's shocked nod she continued " well let me check it out" She took the stethoscope and listened to Rin's breathing, she took Rin's temperature, and examined her eyes and ears, finally she looked at Kagome and smiled, "You did the right thing by bringing her here, She has pneumonia, a very serious case, luckily she won't have scarring on her lungs because you caught it soon enough that she will simply need antibiotics, and an inhaler for 2 weeks after that she will have to be careful, but otherwise she should be fine, I will write out her prescription and you can be on your way!" Kagome just sat there and watched the Sango incarnation talk to her, then she took the slip of paper and went to the front desk, once there she added Rin to her Health Insurance she went to the pharmacy across the street to order Rin's Medicine, what she hadn't expected was for Hojo to work at the pharmacy. "Kagome!" She turned to see an overzealous Hojo running towards her, she inwardly groaned but she smiled at him and said, "Oh! Uh, hey Hojo, I didn't know you worked here." He beamed at her and puffed out his chest, "Yeah my father owns this pharmacy, uh…who's that?" he pointed at Rin, Kagome looked down ant the innocent child who was sound asleep, "This is my cousin…umm I'm watching her for my Aunt, but she's really sick so I need to get her prescription filled, so if you'll excuse me…" she started to go around him when he stepped in front of her, "Here I'll get it for you for free!" with that he ran to go fill it out, Kagome laughed to herself, 'Well I won't stop him, I just remembered that I don't have any cash!' (anime sweat drop!). She sat down on one of the waiting chairs and held Rin, she was such a sweet child, but why did Sesshomaru let her travel with him? He was reported to hate humans, but why?

"Kagome?" She looked up to see Hojo holding two packages one was antibiotics the other was an inhaler, "Uh thanks Hojo!" She held out her free hand to him for the medicine, he reluctantly gave them to her and she walked out the door. "Kagome!" she turned around starting to get annoyed with him, "Yes Hojo?" he came up beside her, "Are you going to walk home?" Kagome nodded wearily, "Do you want me to give you a ride?" she nodded excitedly, she meant so that she didn't have to walk the 4 blocks home, he took it as she was excited to be with him, not good! He pulled up in a '98 red Toyota Tacoma, and Kagome got in, the drive was short and when they arrived she got out of the truck, "Thanks Hojo I don't know how to repay you!" He grinned shyly before saying, "Well there is the school dance this Friday, and I know that you don't have a date and well…." Kagome became very uncomfortable, "Uhhh thanks but I have a…….boyfriend, yeah!" She said anxiously, he looked at her incredulously, "Who!" she was kind of angered that he didn't believe her but if she didn't give him a name he wouldn't stop, so she gave him the first name that popped in her head "His name is Sesshomaru, now if you'll excuse me I need to go and take care of Rin, have a nice day." With that she slammed the door and went inside her house.

Once she gave Rin her first dose of meds, with some orange juice and some of Kagome's old P.J's, Rin went to sleep. Kagome sighed, glad she could have a few moments to relax, she went into her kitchen and on her refrigerator she found a note saying:

Kagome,  
Dear we went to the Shimiri Shrine, your grandfather was specially invited and, and so was the family, we found out after you left for the Feudal Era, so we couldn't tell you, I made this note in case you showed up early, we will be home in one week, I love you and hope you're safe.  
Love, Mom  
p.s The fresh First Aide Kit is in the closet under the stairs!

Kagome smiled, and looked at the date on the note they had left only yesterday, so she wouldn't see them before they left, she sighed then grabbed a soda and laid next to Rin on her bed and went to sleep, it had been a long and exhausting day!

When Kagome awoke it was to the sound of horrid coughing, she ran to the sound which was in the hallway, there she found Rin on the floor gasping for air, Kagome grabbed the inhaler and showed Rin how to use it, she inhaled the medicine and calmed down, "T-thank you Kagome" Rin whispered, Kagome picked Rin up and laid her down then went to get her some hot tea. Kagome trotted down to the kitchen grabbed a kettle and put some water in it, she was humming to herself when a clawed hand grabbed her shoulder, before she could scream she heard the angry but familiar voice of Inuyasha, "Where have you been!" he yelled, Kagome glared at him, then she watched his nose twist in disgust, "You smell like Sesshomaru! Have you been hanging out with that bastard!" Kagome shot him another glare "Yes as a matter of fact I have been with him, Rin asked me to help him and I did, but now Rin is ill and I am helping her now!" he growled deep in his chest, "So that's why he was by the well, I had to fight him in order to go down the well, he told me 'not to interfere with his business' that stupid bastard you should have let him die! Now when are you coming back?" he demanded. Kagome couldn't believe the nerve! She wanted to hit him! She gave him an icy stare, "How dare you! To you I am just a shard detector, nothing more nothing less, well if that's all I am good for then why don't you just take her and then I can continue my life, oh wait that's right she wants you to die with her! She could never accept your demon half! SHE always wanted you to be human! Did I ever do that to YOU? NO! I always accepted you for who you are! But it never was good enough! Even though I was with for everything, I am the one who is helping you get the shards back, not her, she could care less about the Jewel as long as she has a buddy to go to hell with her!" She shouted every word, the hanyou's ears flattened with every word, then he looked at her, "Feh! She loves me and I love her, you have always known that, so why are you so upset? Besides you're the one that broke the shard! And you have seen me with her before, and you always came back, because you are not as strong as Kikyo is!" He gave her a harsh glare, and Kagome saw red. "YOU ARROGANT BASTARD! YOU CAN TAKE YOU CLAY WHORE! And you better protect that evil, uncaring, clay potted, ugly heartless bitch of a-" a slap rang through the house. 

Kagome's head flew to the side, Inuyasha stood shocked that he had just backhanded Kagome. She turned incredulous blue eyes on him, her hand slowly rising to touch her bright red cheek, as her hand made contact with her cheek her eyes glazed over with tears of pain, betrayal, and hate.

"Leave Inuyasha. I never EVER want to see you again; you have used me for the last time. I hope you are happy with your choice, if not too bad, because I am never going back to you." She said quietly. Inuyasha bent his head and left her home for the last time, Kagome's legs crumbled beneath her, and the tears poured down her face. The tea kettle whistled and Kagome rose and grabbed the kettle with shaking hands, she poured the tea, and simply stared at it tears slowly drying and was now being replaced with cold indifference, she grabbed the tray of tea and went upstairs, where Rin was sitting up in bed waiting for the tea, acting like she hadn't heard the yelling. Kagome thrust the tea at Rin, who took it meekly, as if afraid. 'What am I doing, Rin doesn't deserve my anger, she is ill and here I am treating her like a rat!' Kagome thought bitterly, she looked up to find Rin watching her anxiously, and Kagome smiled at her "It's okay sweetie, I'm alright, do you need anything else?" when Rin smiled and shook her head Kagome put cartoons on for her, surprised that Rin didn't question every thing, especially a TV but Kagome ignored it and went through the remaining day packing for her next trip to the feudal era, that night she slept restlessly, as golden eyes and silver hair flitted through her dreams, what she wasn't sure of was if it was Inuyasha or Sesshomaru…..

Kagome woke up exhausted, as if she hadn't slept at all, her mind had been restless, swimming with thoughts of Inuyasha, Kikyo, and Sesshomaru. She went and brushed her teeth, then checked on Rin, not surprised that she was still asleep; so Kagome decide to take a hot shower before Rin woke up. When she came out refreshed and squeaky clean, she went and made oatmeal for Rin, once finished she went upstairs with the tray and found Rin sitting up in her bed, a ghost of a smile on her face, "Good morning Rin, how are you feeling?" Kagome asked warmly. Rin smiled with more glow in it this time, "I am much better, Kagome, thank you very much for giving me those strange blue seeds they made me feel much better, and that wind maker makes the pain in my chest go away," it took a minute to realize that Rin was talking about her medicine and inhaler, rather than correct the child, Kagome placed the tray of food in front of her, "You very welcome, now I want you to eat it all up, and take your med…I mean seeds, after you eat and get cleaned up we will return to Lord Sesshomaru, okay?" When Rin smiled excitedly and began to eat her food with gusto, Kagome rose and began to make their lunches, as she did so she realized that she was packing for no reason. Since she was no longer traveling with Inuyasha there was no need for her heavy backpack, her bow and arrows, she needed nothing because it was all over. Tears welled up in her eyes once again, she was back to being a normal teenager, the thought was not reassuring, then she heard a soft cough from upstairs and remembered that Rin still needed her for a little while longer, and it cheered Kagome up slightly and she resumed her duties. Once Rin was finished eating and thoroughly cleaned they went to the well again, Rin was in Kagome's arms, wrapped in a sweater and thermal underwear to keep her warm and comfortable, Kagome dangled her feet over the edge and dropped in, when she climbed over the edge of the well again, she was in feudal Japan.

She glanced around at her surroundings, and realized that there had been a very brutal fight on this land, and from the looks of it a very recent fight. She looked around trying to decide which way to go when a deep voice from behind her said, "When I said I'd give you three days that didn't mean that you had to stay for all three days, you could have come back sooner, but I guess it's just like a human to be slow and waste time," no emotion came from his voice, but when Kagome turned to face Sesshomaru, she saw a small twinkle in his eye. "Well your welcome, and really you don't need to beg forgiveness for insulting me, after saving your life and Rin's, it truly isn't necessary," she said sarcastically, "So what happened here?" she asked warily, Sesshomaru's face hardened, "I would have thought Inuyasha would have told you everything, I mean after all you are his wench, and he fought so hard to see you in your time," he said icily. Kagome glared, then her eyes watered, "He did tell me that you two fought, but he didn't come and find me to apologize, he simply wanted his Jewel Shard detector back, after that I told him to leave because I could no longer stand being used and treated like a rat," she said softly, her eyes lowered so that he couldn't see her tears, unconsciously her hand rose to her bruised cheek, and Sesshomaru noticed it for the first time. He was momentarily blinded by rage, his stupid half- breed of a brother had hit Kagome, the person, who, on several occasions risked her own life to save his worthless hide, who had cared for him when he was injured, who had protected him when he turned into a human. It made Sesshomaru sick thinking that someone of his blood had betrayed another so deeply, 'like you did' the voice whispered in his head, Sesshomaru ignored it, and looked at the distraught miko, "Will Rin be well soon?" he asked, not letting anything enter his voice or eyes as he said so, Kagome wiped her eyes and looked at him seriously, "She will be alright as long as she takes her medicines and stays warm and dry for at least two weeks." She spoke swiftly and with authority, Sesshomaru's chest welled up with a foreign emotion that he didn't care to examine at the moment, "Good then I expect you to make sure that no harm comes to her in those two weeks, now then let us return to the castle." As he said this Ah and Un appeared and Kagome and Rin climbed on, Kagome was very pensive on the return to the castle. 'Why is he letting me stay? Why does he care so deeply for Rin? He is so different from Inuyasha, I can't believe I ever thought they were similar, Inuyasha was always immature, selfish, whiny and too aggressive for his own good, where as Sesshomaru is…..well I don't know how to describe him, he has such a deep soul, something happened to him to make him so pensive, and cold. Cold… now that's not a word that could describe him, because deep down he is warm of heart, and clear of mind, I think that this icy mask is simply protection,' as Kagome mulled over her thoughts she looked up at Sesshomaru, 'what happened to you?' she asked silently, then returned to stare uninterestedly ahead, as the castle loomed in the distance.

When they were finally in the castle Sesshomaru went to reach for Rin, but Kagome ignored him and hopped off of the scaly dragon and began to march to Rin's room, Sesshomaru watched Kagome's retreating figure, and smiled, 'She is very odd. She fight's me like a wild cat one minute, the next she is a protective little mother to Rin…" the thought chilled his blood, in a way he had always considered himself Rin's father figure, but he would never tell anyone that, and now he was beginning to see Kagome as Rin's mother, this couldn't end well. Sesshomaru went to the forest to think, while Kagome watched him leave from Rin's window, she sighed then went to her room while Rin slept her medicine off. After five minutes of simply staring at the wall, Kagome was bored and restless, so she changed into a blue jogging suit and went outside to run in the gardens, which had small trails that went on endlessly. Kagome jogged for an hour, when she stopped she was sweaty, out of breath and thoroughly relaxed, she went back to the castle to get her swimsuit and shampoo, so she could rinse the sweat from her body, she remembered seeing a spring and tried to relocate it. After 20 minutes of searching she found the spring, she quickly stepped into the refreshingly cool water, she leaned back and rested her head against a rock, and sighed in contentment.

Sesshomaru was walking through the gardens when he smelt it, her scent, and it was deliciously slick, unable to resist Sesshomaru followed the alluring aroma to a small cool spring, where Kagome lay in an odd bathing uniform, her eyes closed and her head tilted back so that the sun poured onto her lovely face. Sesshomaru watched unable to look away, he drank in the sight of her beautifully muscled body relaxed, in the black contraption that encased her body, then he realized that the water was slightly cold, for beneath the black material Kagome's nipples were erect, Sesshomaru felt himself stir as erotic images flowed through his head, with a shake he cleared his head, he stepped back to leave her in peace, when he stepped on the tail feather's of a very loud and protective mother bird, for she took to the air, squawking loudly and pecking Sesshomaru's silver head, he stumbled out of the bushes, but unfortunately he lost his perfect balance on a slippery stone and fell backwards into the spring where a very shocked and embarrassed miko was watching helplessly.

When his head broke the surface of the water, he glared at the bird who was now returning to her nest, then he heard the unmistakable snort, he turned and saw a shaking miko, she tried to keep her laughter under control, but when he turned to glare at her she lost it, it was too hilarious for words, here was the great Lord of the Western Lands, Sesshomaru the greatest killer, standing in front of her looking like a desolate, drowned rat, the normally fluffy, boa (for lack of a better term) laid on his shoulder looking like a limp polar bear. Kagome laughed and laughed and giggled and laughed some more, she heard him huff, and watched him stomp away like a little child who didn't get his way, and she got to see the fearsome Demon Lord, blush like a little school girl, and with that Kagome's legs collapsed from under her and she fell into the water, laughing hysterically.

Sesshomaru burst through the doors of his bedroom, his face still warm from his embarrassment, as he changed out of his sopping wet clothing. Angrily he thrust his arms into the holes of his shirt and dressed quickly, now Kagome would think he was spying on her, which technically he had been, great! It was just something about her that made his blood stir, and it made him as nervous as a male pup in his first mating season, it was stimulating yet humiliating at the same time. She was different from most women, her humor, her ideas, the things that make her angry, her smile, her body everything was unique. On a more somber note though, her laugh warmed his heart, something that could never happen, ever. With that unsettling thought he went outside into the forest for his kill, he never ate cooked meat, unless he had to. Once he was surrounded by the smells, and sounds of the forest he found a small doe by a stream, completely unaware of the predator stalking her. Sesshomaru's breathing changed, coming slow and shallow, his footsteps fell silently through the cluttered forest floor, his claws lengthened, sharpening so that they were ready to kill. His eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed readying for the attack…..he struck with lightning speed, ending the doe's life quickly, he swiftly cleaned the deer, and took the carcass to the castle for the servants to prepare for him. The castle always had food, due to the fact that the hunting parties went out every week to feed the castle's people, but Sesshomaru always preferred his meat fresh, once he dropped the carcass off to the castle, Sesshomaru went to Rin's room to see how she was feeling.

He opened the door and was shocked to find a freshly scrubbed Kagome giving Rin her medicine, he watched as Kagome patted Rin's fore head with a cool washcloth to help fight the fever, saw as she tucked the blankets more securely around the child. Unknown emotion bloomed in his chest as he saw such warm tenderness and love for Rin fill Kagome's eyes, and then as those blue eyes turned on him filled with a completely different warmth. "How does she fair?" he asked quietly, Kagome looked at Rin then back at him, "The medicine that I gave her seems to be working, but it will make her extremely tired, but she needs the rest, what about you are you ok?" humor glittered in the depths of her eyes, he stiffened then replied brusquely "I am none of your concern, and you better take more caution in where you spend your days," with that he turned and walked angrily out the door. Kagome followed him out, and said to him "Oh come on all you have is a bruised ego, get over it, at least now I know your from this planet!" she said jokingly, Sesshomaru stared at her coldly, then her angered flared, "Look, it wasn't my fault that you fell, and besides what were you doing spying on me? And don't deny it because that's exactly what you were doing I swear! Thank god I wasn't naked that would have been the cherry on top of the sundae!" She looked at him waiting for an answer but he looked at her with desire, unexpected warmth pooled deep in her belly as his eyes practically glowed, "Jeez Sessy youdo have a lot of mood swings!". Suddenly all warmth left his face, and unbridled anger flowed upon his face, Kagome jolted out of fear, 'what did I do to make him so angry?' she thought fearfully. "Don't. Call. Me. That." Each word was forced through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you 'my lord', why does that bother you so much?" She looked at him, not really expecting an answer, and was caught off guard when he said, "Because that is what my dead fiancé used to call me." He said bitterly, Kagome's faced paled. "Sesshomaru, I…I'm so sorry, I truly didn't mean anything by it." she said sympathetically, he looked at her coldly the turned and walked away.

Sesshomaru went into his den to look over the numbers of his estates, but was unable to focus as his mind was plagued by horrific memories……

(Flashback, one of many...; sorry!)

Sesshomaru walked bitterly to go meet his lover, Nikida, a curvaceous fox demon, with red golden hair, and passionate green eyes, he held a special place in his heart for her. She stood under an oak tree looking up at the night sky, sensing him she turned and smiled devilishly, "Sesshomaru, my love you wanted to see me? In the mood for a little moonlight madness?" she asked seductively, he had to tell her now. "Nikida I need to speak with you," she froze at the tone of his voice and waited nervously for him to continue, "Today I turned 25, I am now the legal heir to my father's kingdom, and with that come a betrothal." He said bitterly, and watched as her lovely green eyes turn cold, "Well then just dismiss it and marry me I may not be a lady of a famous Lord, but I do have wonderful land, and some money.." she said matter-of-factly, his frown deepened at her words "No, I can not, I have to marry this girl, otherwise my father will disown me, and I will not abandon my duty or honor, and you know that." He said coldly, bitter tears filled her eyes, "YOU PROMISED! YOU LIED TO ME! You said you'd never hurt me! Now I am to be your mistress!" she cried desperately, Sesshomaru shook his head, "No I will not be unfaithful to my wife, no matter what." He said firmly. Nikida shook with anger, "I gave myself to you because you promised to protect and care for me! Now you Betray me like this!" she screeched tears pouring down her face, "Return back to your lands Nikida, I am sorry, and whether you believe me or not, you will always have a place in my heart," with that he walked away leaving the first woman he ever cared for sobbing under an oak……

( ANOTHER FLASHBACK)

"A HUMAN!" Sesshomaru cried out angrily, as he faced his betrothed, a human princess from an island off of Japan. Sesshomaru's father cleared his voice disapprovingly, "Please excuse my behavior, it is a pleasure to finally meet you Princess Kyri," Sesshomaru said, sounding bored, she smiled nervously and dipped into a curtsey, "And you Lord Sesshomaru" She said politely, they went to dinner, and ate quietly, being the host Sesshomaru dutifully made idle conversation, "What is your land like my l-WHAT THE HELL!" Sesshomaru jumped hastily from his seat shaking his clothing out, as a fat little toad fell out and onto the table…. The princess jumped up and grabbed the little toad "WARTS!" She cried out hugging the creature to her bosom, "How did you escape from your cage?" She cooed to the green creature by the name of 'Warts' Sesshomaru looked at her incredulously, she looked up and grinned sheepishly, "Ummm... He's mine," then unexpectedly everyone began to laugh including Sesshomaru………

(Another one…..you'll see …..)

"Oh Sessy, I need to know, do you want to marry me? Or do you feel obligated to do so?" Kyri asked desperately, the week before their wedding, out in the gardens by the flowing river. Sesshomaru smiled down at her and said "I would marry no other, you have brought great joy to my life, you are irreplaceable, and I love you." He said sincerely, unbeknownst to them there was another in the gardens that night, "Sesshomaru, you lied, now you and you betrothed will pay!" Nikida said vehemently…..

(One More I promise!)

Sesshomaru took the knife out of Kyri's body, the knife that was stolen from his father, "OH SESSHOMARU HOW COULD YOU!" at the sound of Nikida's voice he spun around, "It wasn't me" he said coldly, she smiled slyly at him, "I know, because it was me that killed that bitch," she said cruelly, she walked over to him "But that's not all I did, you and any woman that you love, have been cursed, and it will never be broken!" With that she walked to the ledge of the balcony and jumped, Sesshomaru did nothing to stop her, she died with bitterness in her heart, and she was no longer the woman he had once cared for, on that day he swore never to love again…..

(ENd of Flashbacks YAY!)

Sesshomaru sighed heavily, at the memories, he had sworn never to love again, but why was it so hard to resist. Kagome was so different from Nikida, for Kagome was pure of heart, but she wasn't as helpless as Kyri either, Sesshomaru, went deep into thought. He didn't know what the curse on his life, and the woman he loved would be, but he never dared for Nikida had used powerful black fox magic, something to be feared indeed. But as he remembered the joy he once knew, and the happiness he had recently found, he wondered if he could learn to love again…..

Kagome watched Sesshomaru storm off into his office, she felt awful for trudging up such terrible memories for him, briefly Kagome wondered if his finance had been the one to put the seemingly permanent frost on his heart, but dismissed it as she heard a cough. She returned to Rin's side to help soothe her pain., after an hour of caring for Rin, Kagome decided that Rin would sleep for a few more hours, so she decided to roam the castle to keep her ADHD under control (I really think she has it!). Kagome roamed up and down halls, went into hundreds of rooms, after hours of mindless walking Kagome found a gallery filled with hundreds of paintings. Dozens of paintings held men with silver hair and amethyst eyes, some held groups of gorgeous demon families, one in particular caught Kagome's interest, it held a tall man with gold eyes, his long silver hair tied up in a high ponytail,he was covered in armor, and royal linens. Standing next to him was a beautiful woman with a flowing mane of jet black hair, she had stunning violet eyes, in her arms was a silver haired baby with little fluffy ears atop his head, it was Inuyasha. Standing next to his father was a young boy who had the trademark eyes and hair, but had his father's markings and a golden crescent moon on his forehead. The boy held both utter joy, and total resentment as he peered at the painter, this was the present lord of the Western Lands.

Kagome smiled sadly at the painting, he never seemed to be happy, her eyes wondered over to the next painting this one of a pleasant looking Sesshomaru and a lustrous fox demon, who held his arm like it was a prize that she had won, but again Sesshomaru wasn't happy, but there still was no sign of that bone chilling coldness in his eyes yet, so Kagome looked over at the next painting, this one shocking her completely. There was a beautiful blonde girl with glowing green eyes smiling in all her royal frivolity, holding a wart covered toad. That wasn't what shocked her it was the handsome SMILING Sesshomaru holding her that caught her off-guard, his eyes shining brightly. The girl appeared relatively normal, no tail tale signs of her demon heritage, in fact the girl appeared….human. But that wasn't right Sesshomaru hated humans, was this girl his fiancé, could it be possible. Hoping to find more Kagome looked over at the final painting. This was a solo portrait of Sesshomaru, standing proudly with Tenseiga strapped to his waist, but his eyes were disturbing; cold, unemotional, bottomless depths the mere sight made her blood chill.

"Enjoying yourself?" came a chilly voice from behind her, Kagome whirled around, flushing guiltily at the sight of Sesshomaru. "Ummm….I'm sorry I just wanted to see your home and I went down all these halls into all these rooms and then I stumbled upon this and I …I well…..I guess my curiosity got the better of me …again." She finished lamely, she stole a quick peek at his face to see his reaction, but he didn't say anything, didn't move, barely even breathed. Soon his complete silence began to unnerve her so she asked " Umm…who are these people?" gesturing towards the wall covered in paintings.

Sesshomaru stiffened slightly at her question, then answered vehemently, "These are my ancestors, obviously, are all humans as slow minded as you?" her eyes blazed angrily momentarily then humor glowed in their dark depths, "Ha ha ha," she said sarcastically, "Do all demons have such a cynical sense of humor as you?" she shot back, for a moment humor shimmered in his golden gaze before he answered, "No, you are simply blessed with this Sesshomaru," he replied haughtily. She grinned before turning to the paintings behind her, "Who is she?" she asked gently. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed on the fox demon holding his arm in the painting, "That is Nikida a mistress of sorts, her brother was the man I killed in the forest that day." He said tersely, recognition and horror dawned in her eyes as she remembered the lusty demon in the forest, "She killed that woman, Kyri, after learning of our betrothal," he said stiffly, curious as to why he was revealing so much to Kagome. Kagome looked appalled at the thought of killing another human being over such greedy reasons, "That's terrible, I'm sorry for your loss….did….did you…did you love..her?" she questioned cautiously. She watched his body stiffen and his eyes freeze once again, "That is none of your concern, now if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to, then talk about meaningless emotions, good day." He said shortly, then disappeared down the hall, Kagome lingered for another hour, simply thinking, in that short conversation Kagome had learned so much about the silver haired lord of the manor. On the outside he was cold and distant, his sharp, often times cruel intellect was part of the façade that had served him well for hundreds of years. But that shell protected a wounded heart, Sesshomaru was honorable, brave, strong, extremely intelligent, while at the same time, funny, warm, caring and gentle, he was just rough around the edges. This new insight of Sesshomaru, left Kagome wanting to know more, she wondered as she gazed at the glorious painting of Sesshomaru's proud figure with cold eyes, if it were possible for her to mend a heart poisoned by grief, loneliness and mistrust. Then she glanced at the notorious Nikida again, and decided she could…

It had been a week since Kagome and Sesshomaru had 'talked' and Kagome was finding the silence unbearable. On several occasions she had sought him out to talk or apologize, but he would always turn and ignore her. She knew that she was wrong for being nosy but it was simply part of her nature, but still….THIS SILENCE WAS UNBEARABLE! She sighed in frustration, and decided once again to find him and say that she was sorry. She went into the gardens, knowing that this is where he spent most of his time, as she trudged through the thick vegetation she heard a the clanging of swords, she ducked low and crawled to a nearby bush, slowly she pushed branches apart until she could see a bare-chested Sesshomaru battling.

Her breath escaped on a sigh, as she gazed at the rippling muscles of his broad back, sweat thinly coated his skin giving him an ethereal glow. She glanced over at the one Sesshomaru was battling with, he was a young wolf demon, extremely handsome, he had dark silver eyes, his long ebony hair brushed his shoulders (which were ripped!) she watched the wolf demon and the dog demon battle. Both were lightning quick, and both oozed raw masculinity. Kagome felt liquid heat pool in the bottom of her belly as she watched the two perfect male specimens battle. Suddenly they stopped, entranced, Kagome leaned closer, "Are you enjoying the show?" Sesshomaru asked in his usual bored manner.

Kagome's skin heated to a bright scarlet at the fact that she had been caught staring. She rose from the bush, making sure that she never made eye contact with either man. She slowly began to stammer "Ummmm…well…..you see…the thing is….uhhhhh" she continued nervously, Sesshomaru simply arched a brow at her, "The 'thing' is that you were spying on our private practice. Does privacy mean anything to you?" He asked dully, quickly Kagome's reddened skin was not from embarrassment, but anger. "You have GOT to be kidding! This is coming from the same man that was caught spying on ME while I was bathing! PUH-LEASE!" She said sarcastically. Sesshomaru's face pinkened slightly. There was a soft cough from behind Sesshomaru's back, Sesshomaru turned to look at his top general that he had been practicing with only moments before. Before Sesshomaru could even dismiss him, the young general, walked smoothly towards Kagome and bowed gracefully, "A pleasure to meet such a lovely woman, my name is Kariudo, may I be graced with your name my lady?" His voice was like warm honey, Kagome was momentarily distracted with the deep texture of his voice, "Wha…oh my name! My name is Kagome Hirigashi!" She said proudly, she shivered slightly when he lifted her hand to his lips to brush her had gently, his silver eyes gazed down at her, shining like molten mercury. "Ah, a name that surely will haunt my dreams, and a face that will drive all other thought from my mind," he replied silkily, there was a low growl, and Kagome looked behind Kariudo to see Sesshomaru glaring darkly, her gaze returned quickly to the Adonis standing before her, " I believe that is my cue to leave, but if you ever are in need, call out for your devoted Hunter." Then with one last bow Kariudo turned and left the garden.

Kagome's hand burned from where his lips had brushed her skin, she turned to look back at the still growling dog demon, confused she stepped towards him. "Stop." he said quietly, his golden eyes flashing from amber to red often, his claws lengthening slightly, afraid Kagome stepped back, not knowing what else to do sh whispered his name,"Sesshomaru," afraid at what he was doing.  
Suddenly he hissed, then with a burst of inhuman speed Sesshomaru rushed at her and pinned her to a tree, he growled softly then he roughly pressed his lips against hers. His kiss was almost punishing in it's intensity and gruffness, Kagome tried to soften it by wrapping her arms around his neck but he growled deep within his chest, and he swiftly thrust her hands above her head, easily holding them in place with one of his own. Slowly his kiss gentled, but his passion grew, he slanted his mouth against her, his tongue traced her lips begging for entrance, with a low moan, Kagome opened her mouth to his aggressive attack. As his mouth continued it's assault, his free hand moved to the slope of her neck, she felt him trace a small pattern on her skin, she felt the pattern burn into her flesh, she felt it burn to the very depths of her soul, she began to move against him, unsure of what she was supposed to do. His hand reluctantly left her neck to explore the deep valley between her breasts, at the contact he moaned deeply, increasing the intensity of his kiss. As he fondled her breast Kagome squirmed impatiently crying into his mouth, he broke away to stare down at her, her heavily lidded gaze connected with his, "Sesshomaru…" she moaned, and with that he froze. His eyes widened and he jumped away from her as if she had burned him, he gazed at her incredulously then swiftly left the garden and a dazed and very heated Kagome to sit confusedly beneath a tall oak tree. 

From a distance Kariudo smiled, this little flame between Kagome and Sesshomaru was proving to be quite interesting, and never being one not to meddle or cause trouble, Kariudo decided that it had been a good century since he last had some real fun, and he was looong over due…..


End file.
